A PASSIONATE Parkinson’s team of hospital staff from across two Teesside trusts has been honoured for a second time, following the success of a groundbreaking new unit. The Parkinson’s Advanced Symptom Unit (PASU), based at Redcar Primary Care Hospital, is the first of its kind in the UK, combining the expertise of clinicians from South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust with mental health specialists from Tees Esk and Wear Valleys NHS Foundation Trust.

Pancreatic Cancer UK is encouraging people with advanced pancreatic cancer in Middlesbrough to find out more about a pioneering clinical trial at The James Cook University Hospital, which is offering a new combination of treatments which could ultimately allow patients to live for longer. The new HALO 301 trial could offer patients with pancreatic cancer that has spread outside the pancreas, a potential new treatment option for a disease which currently has very few treatments.

The Tees valley’s biggest hospital has been recognised as one of the leading UK centres in creating the “next generation” of senior NHS doctors. Dr Mahir Hamad, Consultant Physician and Clinical Director for Acute Medicine, is to receive a prestigious award recognising South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust’s achievement in enabling 270 junior doctors each year to take a vital clinical practice exam at The James Cook University Hospital.

Last year 65,786 appointments were missed that could have been offered to other patients – each one costing the trust an average of £150. We are urging everyone to let us know if they cannot make it as someone else might really need that appointment.

MRI scans are to be used as the first investigation for the diagnosis of prostate cancer from Monday 23 January 2017 at The James Cook University Hospital. This means any man referred to the Middlesbrough hospital with high PSA levels, which suggest prostate cancer might be present, will have an MRI scan, followed by a biopsy whereas previously they would have the biopsy first.

The last Friday before Christmas is traditionally a day when many people begin their festive celebrations, often resulting in one too many drinks in some cases. For that reason, it is often a busier night than usual for A&E staff.

Poorly children at The James Cook University Hospital were treated to a special Christmas surprise today, when a star-studded team of Middlesbrough Football Club players came to visit. Local lad Ben Gibson chatted to the young fans alongside teammate Adam Clayton, asking about their recovery and what they’d like for Christmas, before presenting generous gifts and sweets.

Staff and patients alike got into the Christmas spirit as they sang carols and other festive classics in the atrium of The James Cook University Hospital at the start of Christmas Week. The event made for an uplifting morning, with members of the Chaplaincy team leading the singing as well as members of a trust staff choir that will begin meeting after work again from January.

South Tees Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust is urging people with symptoms of norovirus not to visit hospitals to help prevent it from spreading. The condition, known as the winter vomiting bug, is the most common stomach bug in the UK, affecting people of all ages and is now beginning to circulate in the community.

Outbreaks of norovirus, which causes vomiting and/or diarrhoea, are common in busy places such as hospitals as the virus easily spreads from one person to another and can survive on surfaces for several days.